I’ve had a wonderful weekend. Daughter no 1 came to visit along with her new puppy, my grand-dog, Pepper. (It looks very unlikely that I’ll ever get grandchildren, so I have to enjoy the four-legged varieties.)
Pepper is a mainly whippet of probably around 18-20 weeks of age – he was found, filthy, emaciated, flea and mange-ridden in a ditch as a tiny puppy, so we’re not certain of his age. Looking at his teeth, which are still mainly baby teeth, I think that’s about right. He has a marvellous temperament – he’s very laid back and seems to take everything in his stride, which is wonderful and a credit to the rescue who cared for and fostered him until Daughter no 1 got him two weeks ago.
They arrived on Friday evening so our first job was to introduce Pepper and Gus. We let them meet outside and have a sniff of each other (for 3 seconds of course!), then we went for a short walk together. Then we took them into the arena for a run off lead, for Pepper to run off his “zoomies” which for him is usually around 7pm, and for the two of them to have the space to find out a bit about each other.
Gus lay down and ignored Pepper’s overtures to play, turning his head away when Pepper barked at him, giving off strong signals saying “leave me alone, nipper”. Pepper pushed into Gus’s face a couple of times but a curled lip or two was sufficient for him to know his place. Only when they had both settled did we bring them into the house.
Both dogs settled well and were fine together for the rest of the weekend. On Saturday morning Gus even invited Pepper to play for a short while, chasing each other round our courtyard.
Whenever you have doggy visitors, or are bringing a new dog into your home, it’s always best to take your time over introducing them. Meet outside to start and go for an on-lead walk together first. If you have a safe outside area, you can let them have a run together. Only go inside when you’re happy the dogs will be OK together.
It’s also so much easier when both dogs know some basic cues. Check out the website for a range of courses we’ve got lined up – all details are on the website, https://www.downdog.co.uk
We had a great weekend – I’ll tell you more about it another time.
Keep training and keep safe,
Carol